Reef fund bill progressing through Senate

BATON ROUGE — A local lawmaker’s drive to recreate the Artificial Reef Development Fund as a constitutional program won the unanimous favor of the Senate Finance Committee Thursday.

Jeremy AlfordCapitol Correspondent

BATON ROUGE — A local lawmaker’s drive to recreate the Artificial Reef Development Fund as a constitutional program won the unanimous favor of the Senate Finance Committee Thursday. Faced with early opposition from Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, negotiated a compromise prior to the hearing that resulted in a neutral position from the administration.Allain’s Senate Bill 128 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would let voters decide if the rigs-to-reefs program should be pulled out of state law and provided the extra protections of constitutional law. If the legislation is approved by the Legislature, voters will have their say on the Nov. 4, 2014, ballot. Allain said after the meeting that the administration only requested the effective date of the amendment, if passed by voters, be Dec. 25, 2014. “It’s a Christmas gift for the reef fund,” Allain said, adding he was told the date is related somehow to the budget process.Rep. Eric LeFleur, D-Ville Platte, asked why an election couldn’t be held sooner, and Sen. Norby Chabert, R-Houma, said he was interesting in exploring the same possibility with the administration. “I was told the administration would object to that,” Allain said, although he added after the meeting that the first opportunity would be November of next year, unless a special election is needed before then. “I don’t want them fighting me on this.” Jindal has proposed transferring $20.6 million from the reef fund to fill holes in his budget that takes effect July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year. Allain said the fund may only have $14 million in it by the time the fiscal year begins, and the administration could potentially take that instead, thus leaving it temporarily empty. The budget has a $1.3 billion revenue shortfall, and the reef fund has been a giving target for the administration when that has repeatedly happened in the past, amounting to $45 million taken from the fund since the 2009-10 fiscal year.While Allain said he has personally asked the governor not to move forward with the latest transfer, his legislation would only protect the fund from future raids. “Having been an avid sportsman and fisherman all of my life, I’ve seen the benefits of the rigs and iron in the Gulf for underwater habitats,” he said. If the constitutional amendment is enacted, the administration would still be allowed to withdraw money from the fund when crafting its 2014-15 budget next spring, if it chooses to do so and the Legislature approves the move.Gifford Briggs, vice president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, said the state program needs all the protection it can get as the federal government accelerates plans to decommission so-called “idle iron” in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil and gas companies save money not having to haul their rigs to shore and a portion of the savings go into the reef fund. “The integrity of this program is very important to our membership,” he said.The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission is considering litigation over the past transfers and the latest if approved, but members say the administration has offered to find a way to repay the money. Negotiations are ongoing, they say.Both the Louisiana Wildlife Federation and the Coastal Conservation Association offered support for Senate Bill 128. The legislation will be heard next by the full Senate.